UNIVERSITY
OF EL SEGUNDO

INDEPENDENT LEARNING · EL SEGUNDO + EVERYWHERE

University of
El Segundo.

Learning
by Making.

Start with a place. Follow a question. Make something useful, and leave a trail others can learn from.

Start one of ten open classes Find your next question ↓

An independent, art-forward learning project rooted in El Segundo. Not an accredited institution or a City of El Segundo program.

A learning path: observe, question, make, shareOriginal abstract geometric artwork: a sun disc, four connecting lines, a square and quarter circles. It is a learning diagram, not a campus map.01 / OBSERVE02 / QUESTION03 / MAKE04 / SHARE BY CHOICE
Original learning-path diagram · no campus depiction

10 open classesSix modules each · start anytime

$0 tuitionNo account or application

Your pace, your workCourse progress stays in your PointCast browser

FOLLOW A QUESTION

Four ways in.

Browse independent inquiries in four schools. These are learning groups, not degree programs or staffed academic departments.

  1. 01

    Place + planet

    Observe a living radius: weather, land, nature and shared space.

  2. 02

    Business + decisions

    Compare business models, markets, evidence and uncertain futures.

  3. 03

    Life + care

    Practice attention, memory, repair and care for one another.

  4. 04

    Tools + making

    Make useful artifacts with art, software and editorial judgment.

CHECKED 2026-10-03

Recently verified studies.

Published reading, tools and case studies. Verification dates describe our link check, not when a study was first published.

  1. 01Coffee, from counter to case study Atlas + business lab
  2. 02Prediction markets Course + synthetic labs
  3. 03Groundwork: real estate observatory Atlas + scenario lab
  4. 04A field guide to plugins Practical field guide

THE SHARED STUDY DESK

Find your field.

Live pages open now. Proposed entries describe future work and have no public link. All studies remain visible when JavaScript is off.

19 studies · 13 live · 6 proposed

  • Business + decisionsLIVE · PUBLIC PAGE

    Coffee, from counter to case study

    Explore a bounded 25-mile café and roaster sample, dated menus and whole beans, then compare café, wholesale and subscription economics. Inventory observations are partial; calculator inputs are illustrative.

  • Business + decisionsLIVE · PUBLIC PAGE

    Prediction markets

    Twelve lessons and six synthetic labs connect probability, trading mechanics, incentives and uncertainty. Conditional 2027 scenarios are teaching tools.

  • Business + decisionsLIVE · PUBLIC PAGE

    Groundwork: real estate observatory

    Study a 25-mile local radius and global real estate foundations; edit assumptions in a hypothetical five-year acquisition lab.

  • Tools + makingLIVE · PUBLIC PAGE

    A field guide to plugins

    A published educational draft on skills, MCP, plugins, discovery, events and hosting. It explains tools and availability boundaries; it does not install or activate a plugin.

  • Business + decisionsLIVE · PUBLIC PAGE

    The business casebook

    Start with café and retail case-study methods: source quality, inventory limits, business models and clearly labelled assumptions.

  • Place + planetLIVE · PUBLIC PAGE

    RADIUS / 90245

    Move a hypothetical receiver through the local field layer and compare modeled radio propagation, link budgets and signal margins.

  • Tools + makingLIVE · PUBLIC PAGE

    The Rebuildable Town

    Revisit the historical six-lesson field study in inhabitable software. Its original address remains available alongside the current course catalog.

  • Place + planetLIVE · PUBLIC PAGE

    The state of electricity

    Follow electricity from early circuits to today’s grid, then explore California and El Segundo pathways, power and energy lessons, and illustrative solar and storage economics.

  • Place + planetLIVE · PUBLIC PAGE

    Read a place. Make a question.

    Sixteen independent activities turn four source-based regional stories about Japan, China, Brazil and the United States into maps, evidence cards and comparisons.

  • Tools + makingLIVE · PUBLIC PAGE

    Beam: a promise to test.

    An announcement and documentation review of Reflection’s Beam, its deployment questions, and a useful way to evaluate a new model before adopting it. No hands-on model testing or independent benchmark reproduction is claimed.

  • Life + carePROPOSED · NO PUBLIC RELEASE

    Human energy

    Proposed study of attention, vitality and recovery, with clear distinctions between cultural traditions and scientific evidence. A public curriculum has not yet been verified.

    Proposed studyPublication pending
  • Place + planetPROPOSED · NO PUBLIC RELEASE

    Plant & nature interaction

    Proposed study of plants, ecology, people and place through observation and small acts of care. Its requested public curriculum is pending verification.

    Proposed studyPublication pending
  • Life + carePROPOSED · NO PUBLIC RELEASE

    Grief & explorations

    Proposed educational companion for remembering loss, finding gentle support and being alongside someone else. A public release has not yet been verified.

    Proposed studyPublication pending
  • Place + planetPROPOSED · NO PUBLIC RELEASE

    Weather-sharing

    Proposed study of observing weather together and sharing useful local records. The requested study has no verified public release yet.

    Proposed studyPublication pending
  • Place + planetPROPOSED · NO PUBLIC RELEASE

    Public spaces

    Proposed field study of access, stewardship and the everyday use of shared places. Publication is pending verification.

    Proposed studyPublication pending
  • Business + decisionsPROPOSED · NO PUBLIC RELEASE

    IndustryNext business companion

    A companion for comparing business models and working through illustrative assumptions. Its separate publication is pending verification.

    Companion draftPublication pending
  • Place + planetLIVE · PUBLIC PAGE

    Nature Practice

    An existing twelve-month pathway through species, observation and architectural questions. This is a related published resource, separate from the proposed plant-and-nature study.

  • Place + planetLIVE · PUBLIC PAGE

    Weather & Living Atlas

    Explore historical climate and seasonal living in an existing atlas. This is a related published resource, separate from the proposed weather-sharing study; it is not a forecast.

  • Place + planetLIVE · PUBLIC PAGE

    Beach Commons

    Explore the existing visual field series of shared-place concepts. This related published resource is separate from the proposed public-spaces study.

SHOW YOUR WORK

A source behind every door.

Case-study figures keep their observation dates, geography and limitations. Scenario calculators use labelled hypothetical assumptions. No study promises live inventory, investment returns or a credential.

Related art belongs to the El Segundo School archive. The program page explains the forming institution and its funding model.

Read the directory evidence

Live means the public page identity was checked on the stated date. Proposed entries have no public link. A verification date is not a publication date. Per-study checkedAt and sourceURL/sourceCommit identify individual verification cohorts. Directory-level checkedAt and verificationSourceRevision retain the older source cohort and do not redate every linked resource.

About the artwork

Original code-native geometric artwork prepared for this homepage. Adapted from the existing University of El Segundo Brand Tokens v0.1 concept, 2026-10-02: bone, clay, forest and charcoal; square, quarter-circle and connecting line. Abstract learning-path diagram, not a campus, location map or accreditation seal.

Read the structured study directory ↗Read the existing class catalog ↗

START ANYTIME

SELF-PACED

LOCAL PROGRESS

PRIVATE RECEIPT

No account. No application. No deadline. No wallet. Public only by choice.

01 · CURRENT ONLINE TERM

Choose a room.

All ten rooms are active now. Each has six readable modules, a self-guided studio path, field tasks, access notes, private local progress, and a finishable outcome. Optional supported cohorts add people, not permission to begin.

  1. Public Weather Course 04, course cover for UES-201
    UES-201active6 modules

    Marine Layer: Weather, Light & Daily Seeing

    WEATHER + LIGHT

    Study weather as visual material and public experience: observe one place closely enough to see air, light, sound, and daily change become a local language.

    LEAVES BEHINDAn accessible six-panel micro-atlas showing one place through changing weather, light, color, and sound.
    Start this course →
  2. Flower Freedom Compact Home Gr, course cover for UES-202
    UES-202active6 modules

    The 25-Mile Atlas: Mapping a Living Radius

    MAPS + CIVIC

    Map a place through useful rooms, missing connections, access barriers, lived stories, and the relationships that make a radius more than a circle.

    LEAVES BEHINDA private-by-default map of useful places, missing connections, lived stories, access barriers, and one achievable local repair, with optional public sharing.
    Start this course →
  3. Contemporary Exhibition Poster Titled Cultivation As Choreogr, course cover for UES-203
    UES-203active6 modules

    Public Image Office: Posters, Signs & Civic Invitations

    TYPE + PUBLIC IMAGE

    Treat public graphics as working civic material: images that help a real person find, understand, join, question, or remember something local.

    LEAVES BEHINDA private-by-default visual campaign for a real or self-defined local gathering or public-use project: poster, mobile card, printable sign, and editable source package.
    Start this course →
  4. Minimal Political Archive Poster Titled Prohibited Knowledge, course cover for UES-204
    UES-204active6 modules

    Living Archive: Oral History, Image & Sound

    ARCHIVE + MEMORY

    Practice keeping as a relationship: listen carefully, request consent, preserve enough context, and make a record another person can understand without claiming ownership of their life.

    LEAVES BEHINDOne consented oral-history or object-story record containing edited audio or transcript, an image, metadata, and a clear rights statement.
    Start this course →
  5. Official Founding-Charter Poster For The Fictional University, course cover for UES-205
    UES-205active6 modules

    Collective Intelligence Studio: Humans, Agents & Editorial Judgment

    AI + COLLECTIVE

    Build human-agent workflows in which tools expand the field of possibility while people remain accountable for sources, decisions, omissions, and the finished public claim.

    LEAVES BEHINDA sourced research dossier or creative work accompanied by a legible process ledger showing what the learner, tools, and sources each contributed.

    BOUNDARY · No sensitive personal data, deceptive synthetic media, unlicensed imitation, or unsupported factual publication.

    Start this course →
  6. Minimalist Building Entrance Sign For University Of El Segund, course cover for UES-206
    UES-206active6 modules

    Common Table: Hospitality as Civic Infrastructure

    HOSPITALITY + COMMONS

    Practice invitation, access, facilitation, food or object prompts, conflict care, and follow-through as the working infrastructure of a good collective room.

    LEAVES BEHINDAn accessible 45-minute gathering or one-person hospitality rehearsal with an invitation, run-of-show, micro-budget, access notes, and aftercare receipt.
    Start this course →
  7. Art Poster Titled The Flower Is Architecture For University O, course cover for UES-207
    UES-207active6 modules

    Plant Portraits: Form, Lineage & Cultural Memory

    BOTANY + LINEAGE

    Join botanical looking, introductory lineage study, cultural history, image making, and typography without reducing a living plant to decoration or commodity.

    LEAVES BEHINDA sourced four-page illustrated plant portrait plus one private lineage panel, with optional contribution to a shared visual lineage wall.

    BOUNDARY · Legal specimens and public information only. Cannabis examples remain 21+, educational, and non-medical, with no consumption or unlawful cultivation instruction.

    Start this course →
  8. Student Radio Poster For Kues 88.1 Broadcasting From Universi, course cover for UES-208
    UES-208active6 modules

    Local Broadcast: Publish a Place

    BROADCAST + PLACE

    Build a small, accountable local publication from field reporting, visual language, sound, metadata, community editing, and a clear promise to the place it serves.

    LEAVES BEHINDOne accessible six-item issue containing a dispatch, portrait, map, resource, image or audio card, and editor’s note, plus a reusable publishing kit.
    Start this course →
  9. Whimsical Cutaway Illustration Of A Cluttered Curiosity Cabin, course cover for UES-209
    UES-209active6 modules

    Repair Manual: Care, Maintenance & the Everyday

    CARE + MAINTENANCE

    Treat maintenance as local knowledge: read wear, diagnose carefully, decide when not to intervene, and explain one safe care practice so another person can use it.

    LEAVES BEHINDAn accessible illustrated care manual for one ordinary object or shared-place condition, including a diagnostic tree, safety boundary, materials and cost notes, maintenance interval, and handoff.

    BOUNDARY · Low-risk observation and care only. No electrical, gas, structural, medical, vehicle-safety, hazardous-material, weapon, or unlawful work; stop for every condition named in the on-page stop rule or whenever a source or product label requires qualified help.

    Start this course →
  10. A Migratory Bird Radio Log From A Cliffside Listening Post Bi, course cover for UES-210
    UES-210active6 modules

    Listening Post: Soundwalks & the Acoustic Commons

    SOUND + PLACE

    Hear one place as a layered public system: notice rhythm, refuge, noise, voice, weather, machines, and other species, then shape those observations into an ethical and accessible listening route.

    LEAVES BEHINDA five-minute listening route or stationary sonic atlas with field recording or non-audio score, map, transcript or description, context, consent notes, and a reusable observation prompt.

    BOUNDARY · No intelligible private conversations, covert recording, trespass, unsafe routes, or disturbance of wildlife or sensitive sites. A stationary, archival, memory-based, or notation-only path always counts equally.

    Start this course →

02 · THE SHARED CONTRACT

How we will run it.

Start any class immediately, without an application or account. Follow six modules at any pace, save progress locally, finish the outcome, and download a private self-issued receipt. Complete any four of the six module receipts and the final course outcome or a private equivalent. The downloadable receipt is a self-attestation, not accreditation or a financial credential.

01

No application

Choose any room and begin immediately. Access is uncapped; the 120-learner figure is a funding plan for optional human support.

02

One clear solo path

Every group or critique prompt includes a self-guided equivalent. Live attendance and peer response are never required.

03

Four of six

Complete any four module receipts and the final course outcome or a private equivalent.

04

Progress stays local

Your browser remembers checkmarks. Downloading a private, self-issued completion receipt is optional.

05

Learner rights

Learners retain copyright. Public licenses and Tezos minting are optional.

06

No wallet gate

Learning never requires an account, wallet, public identity, contribution, or public artifact.

03 · OPEN-BOOK COST

Pay for preparation, not just airtime.

The planning target is $46,600, about $388 for each of 120 learners receiving optional human support. Self-paced access remains uncapped and tuition is $0.

THE LOCAL TRANSMISSION$46,600

Ten courses · six modules · 120 supported learners planned · access uncapped

  1. Ten active self-paced course roomsEditorial maintenance, access materials, microgrants, course-specific production, and optional supported cohorts.
    $34,500
  2. Learner access grantsConnectivity, care, equipment, translation, and other participation barriers.
    $4,000
  3. Platform and public archiveCourse pages, streaming, shared storage, feeds, archive, and production utilities.
    $2,100
  4. Legal, insurance, and administrationQualified review, participant agreements, bookkeeping, insurance, and program administration.
    $2,500
  5. ContingencyProtect paid teaching, access, and the public outcomes from ordinary pilot surprises.
    $3,500
UES-201$3,350

Weather-and-art guest honorarium beyond the standard course plan.

UES-202$3,300

Mapping tools, data preparation, and accessible export support.

UES-203$3,400

Print proofs, format testing, and accessibility-production review.

UES-204$3,700

Archive storage, rights support, and a specialist guest honorarium.

UES-205$3,300

Optional faculty demonstrations, accessible process-ledger examples, and independent curriculum maintenance; the class does not depend on model or API credits.

UES-206$3,500

Four $100 optional project grants for access, food, materials, or room costs.

UES-207$3,600

Botanical guest faculty and accessible observation kits.

UES-208$3,400

Hosting, feed, archive, and lightweight publishing utilities.

UES-209$3,450

Optional professional safety review, accessible diagram examples, and low-risk repair micro-kits; none is required for independent completion.

UES-210$3,500

Optional faculty listening lab, accessibility review, and public hosting support; the page and a local text or audio file are sufficient for independent completion.

Read the full university budget and funding ladder →

04 · SEASON 0 FOUNDATIONS

The first eight questions.

Season 0 established the school’s original online foundations. The Local Transmission makes the next term more runnable: complete self-guided rooms, explicit access, visible completion paths, and course-level costs.

  1. UES-101

    The Rebuildable Town

    Read a town as a system that can be repaired: streets, services, rituals, budgets, signs, and the relationships between them.

    6 weeks
  2. UES-102

    Local Systems & Civic Practice

    Learn how agendas, fees, public records, departments, and neighborhood relationships become everyday civic power.

    6 weeks
  3. UES-103

    Flower Commons: Plant Beauty & Human Culture

    Study plant form, cultivation, symbolism, public gardens, and the ways people build culture around living beauty.

    6 weeks
  4. UES-104

    Cannabis Studies: Grow, Genetics & Society

    An interdisciplinary study of plant biology, genetics, cultivation systems, visual culture, history, policy, and community stewardship.

    6 weeks
  5. UES-105

    Type as Public Language

    Treat typography as civic material: a voice for signs, flyers, course covers, wayfinding, protest, welcome, and memory.

    6 weeks
  6. UES-106

    AI Studio: Tools, Judgment & Authorship

    Use contemporary creative models with taste, disclosure, source awareness, and a strong human editorial point of view.

    6 weeks
  7. UES-107

    Archive, Tezos & Public Memory

    Build durable public archives, understand wallet-based publishing, and examine when minting adds value to a cultural record.

    6 weeks
  8. UES-108

    Community Operations: Host, Feed, Fund

    Practice the invisible work of a good gathering: invitations, access, hospitality, facilitation, budgets, conflict care, and public receipts.

    6 weeks

05 · AFTER ONLINE

Six field departments waiting for a local room.

These previously outlined tracks remain the 25-mile field layer—not a competing online catalog. They open only after a steward, partner site, access path, budget, and real El Segundo-area schedule exist.

01

Saltwater Skills

Tides, beach reading, marine layer, shoreline safety, and the small practical literacy of living beside the Pacific.

FIRST SESSION

Read a tide chart, pick a beach window, and name one ocean condition worth watching.

02

Court Craft

Pickleball fundamentals, doubles etiquette, paddle feel, ladder play, and friendly match structure.

FIRST SESSION

Run a dink/reset clinic and open the paddle shelf for ten-minute trials.

03

Hands & Trades

Small repairs, useful craft, bike fixes, planter boxes, food skills, and the dignity of knowing how to do one real thing.

FIRST SESSION

Each person brings one broken, dull, loose, or confusing object and leaves with a next move.

04

Civic Layer

How El Segundo actually works: city meetings, planning, airport edges, water, schools, parks, and local decisions.

FIRST SESSION

Map one local decision path from public notice to meeting to vote to follow-up.

05

Honey & Garden

Local honey, native planting, seasonal harvests, neighborhood tables, and pollinator-aware gardening.

FIRST SESSION

Pair a honey tasting with one native planting move and a published field note.

06

Studio Night

A low-bar, high-frequency demo room for anything someone made this week.

FIRST SESSION

Three seven-minute demos, no slide polish, one receipt per demo.

UES-09 · LIVE FIELD INSTRUMENT

RADIUS / 90245 turns the 25-mile layer into an RF bench.

Move a hypothetical receiver through El Segundo's field layer, tune the carrier and link budget, inspect the Fresnel zone and light-time, hear the modeled margin, then share the exact experiment.

Open the signal lab →

The philosophy shelf reads that 25-mile cap as an ethics of attention. Start with the seminars.

PREVIOUS CURRICULUM · ADDRESS PRESERVED

UES-05 remains where it was built.

The historical Rebuildable Town is a six-lesson field study in inhabitable software. It is not UES-101, and its monotonic address stays intact.

Open historical UES-05 →